› added 10 years ago

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TIL that Canola is made from Rapeseed. Wanting to avoid the negative connotation of the word ‘rape’ the Rapeseed Association of Canada coined the new name from Canada (Can) and Oil (Ola).

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5vjp TIL that 60’s counterculture singer Phil Ochs would go on paranoid drunken rants about the FBI watching him. After hanging himself in his sister’s home it was revealed that the FBI had a 500 page file on him.
5YQ4B TIL A man who survived a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge but broke his back on impact was saved from drowning by a sea lion who kept him afloat until rescuers could reach him.
YpwOA TIL Monarch butterflies migrating North take 3-4 generations to make it to their destination. Gen 1 does not get to its Northern destination; Gen 3 or 4 does. To return, Gen 3 or 4 flies the entire route South. Then Gen 3 or 4 begins flying N. laying eggs along the way that start Gen 1 migrating N.
6E1X7 TIL cattle in the United States are often fed chicken excrement (once cow can eat up to 3 tons of it every year) because it is cheaper than feeding them hay, grass, alfalfa, etc.
MeWrK TIL of Grigory Perelman, the mathematician who solved one of the most difficult math problems ever conceived and turned down multiple awards, including a $1 million dollar prize. When questioned by one persistent journalist, he said “you are disturbing me. I am picking mushrooms.”